New Charlestown Town Clerk appointed

CHARLESTOWN – For newly appointed Town Clerk Amy Rose Weinreich, it felt like she was training for the job since her first day with the town in February 2002 as Deputy Town Clerk.

“It's been a natural progression to learn the ropes and follow in the footsteps of the clerks that have served before me,” Weinreich, a South Kingstown native, said about the years leading up to her appointment at the May 18 special Town Council meeting.

At that meeting, she officially became the 29th Town Clerk in the town's history. And, appropriately, she was sworn in by the previous clear, Jodi LaCroix, who retired earlier this year.

But before it was made official, LaCroix spoke on her successor.

“Nine years ago I hired a young girl to be my deputy,” she said. “She was green and eager to learn. She had never worked municipal before, but I saw in her a fire.”

And in the ensuing years, LaCroix said she showed Weinreich the ropes of municipal life, sometimes letting her make a mistake or two so that she would learn and, more importantly, remember.

“I've watched this young woman learn and mature throughout the years,” LaCroix continued. “I knew without a doubt that she would be my heir apparent when it came time for me to retire.”

LaCroix made this clear to the Town Council and Town Administrator William DiLibero both in her letter of resignation and at her retirement party.

“Tonight, my protege has honored me by asking that I swear her in as Charlestown's 29th Town Clerk,” LaCroix said. “Without further delay, it is time for Amy Rose Weinreich to take her place in Charlestown history.”

Weinreich said she is honored and excited to serve as Town Clerk. She is hopeful to continue many of the projects her predecessor worked to get off the ground. This includes expanding the town's online land evidence records, which are currently indexed to 1936 and imaged to August 2001, all the way back to the town's incorporation date of 1738.

She also hopes to see the town progress toward making its services even more accessible to the public.

One way this has already occurred, she said, is through the utilization of ClerkBase, which allows for uploading of agendas and minutes from Town Council, Planning Commission, and Zoning Board of Review meetings. Most importantly, it provides the ability to live stream municipal meetings on the town website at www.charlestownri.org.

Weinreich said she was drawn to the position in 2002 because she was looking for a long-term job that she could grow into. And that is just what she has done by, in her words, offering services to “such a broad spectrum of citizens in so many ways by keeping all the records of the town,” from the land evidence records to the business licenses to the beach stickers.

“Every day brings different challenges and opportunities to learn something new,” Weinreich said.